Border, cybersecurity, trade top agendas of Texas lawmakers in 2012

National Guard troops are deployed along the Mexican border. There will be a change in emphasis in 2012. (AP photo)

U.S.-Mexico border security, increased international trade and cyber security are among the issues Texas lawmakers plan to tackle in 2012.

Using technology, helicopters and airplanes is part of an Obama administration plan to secure the 2,000-mile border as it reduces the number of National Guardsmen assigned to bolster Border Patrol ranks.

Congress also is seeking to enhance security through technology with a border bill that focuses on unmanned aerial vehicles, tunnel detection, biometrics and anti-counterfeit measures, said Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio.

Smith said the bill will be taken up by the House Homeland Security Committee this year and has drawn strong Republican support “because only 44 percent of the Southwest border is under operational control of the Border Patrol.”

The bill was introduced in the first session of the 112th Congress. Lawmakers will return early this month to begin the second session.

Smith and Rep. Francisco Canseco, R-San Antonio, have been critical of the Obama administration on border enforcement, while calling for more measures to secure the international boundary.

The partisan rhetoric will only become more heightened during the presidential election year, said Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo.

“Border security is going to be a big issue. It will be interesting to see how much money we are going to put in — and are we going to be able to match the rhetoric with action?” Cuellar asked.

While most of the congressional focus on the U.S.-Mexico border is on security, South Texas lawmakers also are vocal about improving ports of entry, bridges and roads to streamline the growing trade between the two countries. More than 75 percent of overland trade between the United States and Mexico comes through Texas, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, said one of the top issues facing the region is “improving our means of transportation, especially when it comes to international trade with Mexico.”

Hinojosa is working with Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, to improve roads and highways in the trade corridor known as Interstate 69, linking the lower Rio Grande Valley to Midwest states and Canada.

“It’s not so much (getting) money, it’s getting roads that are up to interstate standards classified as interstate standards,” Farenthold said of the work ahead.

Clearing regulatory hurdles and finding “innovative” funding sources would speed the process of completing an international trade route that will benefit all three North American countries, Farenthold said.

Meanwhile, a top issue for Texas lawmakers is cyber security. San Antonio is home to Lackland AFB and the 24th Air Force, as well as University of Texas at San Antonio and numerous government institutions and private firms that all deal with that growing industry.

Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio, said expanding it is a continued priority for the congressional delegation. A House resolution he pushed last year calls for Congress to address the need to safeguard the nation’s information infrastructure and “calls on leaders across the government to take action to ensure that no enemy ever turns the Internet against the United States.”

Smith agreed. He said a cyber security enhancement bill coming up in his House Science Committee would help coordinate research activities across federal agencies.

“This bill is critical for San Antonio, which has become a cyber security hub,” Smith said.